October 24th, 2012 
(Photo Credit: Sony Columbia Pictures)
If you’ve seen the trailer, you can probably guess exactly what happens in “Here Comes The Boom.” You’d be right. But don’t let that keep you from seeing it – the cast makes the storyline work and it’s a little knockout of a comedy.
Starring Kevin James (“King of Queens,” “Hitch”) as an apathetic schoolteacher, Scott Moss, who takes on a herculean task of saving the school’s music program and the job of lovable music teacher Marty Streb (Henry Winkler of “Happy Days” fame) by vowing to single-handedly raise $48,000 before school-year’s-end.
Of course Moss can only think of one way to do this: by training for and entering MMA (mixed martial arts) competitions, where he’ll be paid a solid chunk of change – $10,000 a match – to lose.
While Kevin James certainly doesn’t appear to have the physical advantage for MMA fighting, making this solution all the more unbelievable, he plays such a likeable character that you’ll find yourself just allowing the story to progress without complaint.
By the end of the film, Mr. Voss has been invited to an official UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) match in Las Vegas, with the fate of the school on the line.
(Photo Credit: Sony Columbia Pictures)
Few will be surprised by how it all unfolds or by how it all ends, but most will enjoy the journey getting there.
The verdict: It’s easy to be cynical about such a cheesy, unrealistic film and write it off before ever seeing it, but it’s hard to deny the fantastic chemistry of the cast, and “Here Comes the Boom” is a feel-good family-flick with a little something for everyone. Definitely worth seeing.
Opened: October 12, 2012
Director: Frank Coraci
Starring: Kevin James, Henry Winkler, Salma Hayek
